The present invention relates to a communication apparatus appropriately applicable to a facsimile device, or a hybrid device provided with a copy function, facsimile function and printer function, or similar devices, which can conduct a remote diagnosis by using the communication line.
Recently, with an advance of information processing technology and an improvement of information network, a case of use of a communication device provided with a plurality of communication modes, is increasing. In such types of communication devices, such a control is conducted that initially, in a certain communication mode, a communication line is connected, and then, when there is no response from a remote station for a predetermined period of time, the communication is switched to another communication mode. Further, in another communication mode, such a control is conducted that initially, the communication line is connected, and when a signal of a remote station, which shows a specific communication mode, is detected, the communication is switched to that communication mode.
Incidentally, in a facsimile device, or a hybrid device provided with a copy function, facsimile function and printer function, or similar devices, a case of use of a communication apparatus provided with a remote diagnosis mode and remote setting mode, is increased. In this type of communication apparatus, by a command from a control apparatus (hereinafter, called the center terminal) for office machines installed on a remote side, information inside the apparatus is read from the facsimile device, hybrid machine, or the like, provided on the user side, and by using a communication line, the information inside the apparatus is sent to the remote center terminal (remote diagnosis), or various kinds of data are set from the center terminal into the inside of the apparatus on the user side (remote setting).
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a structure of this type communication apparatus 10. The communication apparatus shown in FIG. 5 has a communication terminal 2 connected a communication line 1. A CML relay 8 and a control section 3 are connected to the communication terminal 2, and when a ring signal showing the calling from the remote station is detected, the communication line 1 and the communication apparatus 10 are closed with each other by the CML relay 8 by a connection signal S0 from the control section 3, and the calling from the remote station is received.
A means 4 to switch a communication mode (hereinafter, called the mode switching means), for example, by software, is connected to the control section 3, and the mode switching means is controlled to select a facsimile mode 6 or a remote diagnosis mode 7 by a register rewriting signal S1 from the control section 3. The mode switching means 4 is provided with, for example, a command register 14, and normally, a control command to select a facsimile mode 6 (home position) is written therein by a register rewriting signal S1. A ROM 28 is connected to the mode switching means 4, and the algorithm to conduct the facsimile mode 6 or remote diagnosis mode 7 is stored therein.
Further, an in formation processing means 9 is connected to the CML relay 8, and information processing is conducted based on the algorithm to conduct the facsimile mode or remote diagnosis mode 7, which is read from ROM 28 by the control section 3 and the mode switching means 4. A timer circuit 5 is connected to the control section 3, and when a calling signal is received, the timer starts. For example, when 35 sec has passed from the start of the facsimile mode, a timer signal S2 showing xe2x80x9cpassage of 35 secxe2x80x9d is outputted to the control section 3, and the control command in a command register 14 provided in the mode switching means 4 is rewritten by the control section 3 based on the timer signal S2. According to this rewriting, the mode is switched from the facsimile mode 6 to the remote diagnosis mode 7 by the mode switching means 4.
Next, operations of the conventional type communication apparatus 10 will be described. FIGS. 6A and 6B are time charts showing an example of switching operations of the facsimile mode 6/remote diagnosis mode 7, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the example of that switching. In this communication apparatus 10, in the case where no facsimile signal is detected from the remote station when 35 sec has passed from the starting time of the facsimile mode shown in FIG. 6B, then, the mode automatically shifts to the remote diagnosis mode 7. On this presupposition, after the ring is detected in step A1 of the flow chart in FIG. 7, the calling from the remote station is received in step A2. At this time, the facsimile mode 6 is selected by the mode switching means 4, and the facsimile mode 6 is started.
After that, the facsimile signal from the remote station is detected in step A3. When the apparatus of the remote station is recognized to be a facsimile, the sequence advances to step A4, and the facsimile mode 6 shown in FIG. 6A is continued. On the other hand, when the facsimile signal from the remote station is not detected and the apparatus of the remote station is not recognized to be a facsimile, in step A3, the sequence advances to step A5, and it is judged whether 35 sec has passed from the starting time of the facsimile mode. When 35 sec has not passed from the starting time of the facsimile mode, the sequence returns to step A3, and it is judged again whether the existence of the facsimile signal is detected.
Accordingly, when 35 sec has passed while the facsimile signal from the remote station is not detected after the facsimile mode is started in the time chart shown in FIG. 6B, the sequence advances to step 6, and after the facsimile mode is stopped, the sequence advances to step 7 and the remote diagnosis mode 7 is started. In this case, the control command in the command register 14 in the mode switching means 4 is rewritten by a register rewriting signal S1 by the control section 3 into which the timer signal S2 is inputted. Accordingly, by this rewriting of the control command in the register 14, in the mode switching means 4, the reading-out control of the ROM 28 is conducted such that the mode is switched by the software from the algorithm according to the facsimile mode 6 to the algorithm of the remote diagnosis mode 7.
However, according to the conventional type communication apparatus 10, when calling is received, initially the communication is started in the facsimile mode, however, when the facsimile signal of the remote station can not be detected for 35 sec from the start of the facsimile mode because the apparatus of the remote station is set to the remote diagnosis terminal, the content of the command register 14 can not be rewritten when xe2x80x9c35 secxe2x80x9d has not passed, therefore, the mode can not be switched from the facsimile mode 6 to the remote diagnosis mode 7.
Accordingly, when the remote diagnosis mode 7 (hereinafter, called also the specific information processing mode) is conducted between the user of the communication apparatus 10 and the remote diagnosis central apparatus (hereinafter, called also the specific remote station), the connecting time of the communication line 1 to recognize the communication mode of the remote station increases to a long period of time, or when the public network such as NTT, or the like, is used, useless communication fee of the users is paid, which are problems.
Accordingly, the present invention solves the abovedescribed problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a communication apparatus by which the connection time to the communication line to recognize a communication mode of the remote station when a specific information processing mode is conducted to a specific remote station, can be reduced, and the communication fee for that communication can be reduced.
The object of the present invention can be attained by any one of the following structures.
(Structure 1) An image forming apparatus having multiple functions for forming an image on a recording sheet by a copying mode or a facsimile mode, the image forming apparatus comprising:
(a) recording means;
(b) image reading means for reading an image of an original document so as to form the image in the copying mode;
(c) a modem device for decoding data sent from a public network;
(d) a first memory for registering telephone identification information for a remote station;
(e) detecting means for detecting a telephone identification provided with a caller identification service of a communication enterprise; and
(f) a controller for controlling said modem device, the controller realizing a first communication mode for receiving facsimile data so as to form the image in the facsimile mode, or a second communication mode for diagnosis of the apparatus and for setting control information of the apparatus from the remote station through said modem device,
wherein said controller realizes the first communication mode in the case the telephone identification detected by the detecting means does not coincide with a registered telephone identification of the remote station, and realizes the second communication mode in the case the telephone identification detected by the detecting means coincides with the registered telephone identification of the remote station.
(Structure 2) The apparatus of structure 1, wherein the communication of the first communication mode and the second communication mode are carried out through a common public network and a common modem device.
(Structure 3) The apparatus of structure 1 further comprising a setting means for setting whether or not said second communication mode is carried out,
wherein when the setting means sets that the second communication mode is not carried out, it is prohibited that the first communication mode is switched over to the second communication mode, when the telephone identification detected by the detecting means coincides with a registered telephone identification of the remote station.
(Structure 4) The apparatus of structure 1 further comprising a codec section for compressing and decompressing data passed through said modem device.
(Structure 5) The apparatus of structure 1 further having a printing function for forming an image on a recording sheet on the basis of image data sent from a computer by a printing mode.
(Structure 6) The apparatus of structure 1 further comprising:
a second memory for storing a control algorithm for conducting the first communication mode and a control algorithm for conducting the second communication mode, and
an input means for inputting the telephone identification information to the first memory,
wherein the controller selects one of the control algorithms in the second memory on the basis of the result of detection of the detecting means and the telephone identification information stored in the first memory.
According to the present invention, because the type of the terminal equipment of the specific remote station can be early recognized by the comparison means, the time period necessary to recognize the communication mode of the remote station can be more reduced than that of the conventional method. Accordingly, in the case where the remote diagnosis mode or the like is conducted with the remote diagnosis central apparatus, because the connection time to that communication line can be reduced, thereby, the communication fee of the user can be reduced.